David Ryan’s bas-relief paintings, composed of superimposed layers of mainly white surfaces with rounded contours are also visually identifiable creations. One could imagine that each of his rounded shapes could be turned on its axis, like those little marquety boxes with hidden opening mechanisms.

Ryan observes the contours of surfaces, and more precisely the links and interstices between closely fitting surfaces, like a door on its frame. He finds his junctions in technological products of our daily lives. He begins by drawing directly using a computer mouse. He then draws the junction lines which he later manipulates to alter the organization of the surfaces. He then transcribes them into careful laser cutouts of several sheets of medium that are superimposed irregularly. Ryan’s work is that of a painter as well as of a sculptor and architect. The visual effects are created by the interplay of superimposed curves, by what is shown or concealed, by the colors squeezed between two panels, and by the play of light and shadow created by volume.